The Fight
by JillianUnleashed
Summary: Hermione's life hasn't turned out how she thought it would, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
1. The Fight

I don't own anything but the plot nor do I make money off of this either. JKR owns it all and she's one lucky gal, if a bit delusional if the end of book 7 is used as evidence.

Chapter 1: Support

"_As long as birth injuries are not overwhelming, a supportive home can restore children's growth" _

_Berk, L (2008); Infants and children, 6__th__ ed.,pp. 145, Pearson, Boston_

It was a warm sunny day on the outskirts of London. Hermione Granger, formerly Weasley, sat on a park bench and watched as young children ran amok at a playground. At first glance, this playground appeared the same as any playground, except the swings were a little different. Then, one noticed that the ground was actually a spongy material, not grass or wood chips, and the jungle gyms contained wheelchair ramps. Every aspect of the park was familiar but different. This particular park was founded for children with disabilities to come and play in safety.

During her pregnancy, if someone had asked Hermione Granger what she wanted for her child, she would have responded with "I want my child to be healthy and happy." Her husband had insisted that he too only wanted a healthy child. As it so happens, the Weasley ideal for "healthy" was far removed from Hermione's own concept of the idea.

Being a good mother, Hermione read development books, and researched expectations while pregnant. After the birth, Hermione kept a journal and filled in milestone details for their daughter, Rose. When Rose was around six months old, Hermione approached their pedi-healer about some concerns she'd had about delayed development. The healer noted that Hermione was a first-time mother and wrote her off. Refusing to be deterred, Hermione then talked to her mother-in-law, a woman who had seven healthy children and many grandchildren.

Molly assured Hermione that some children are ahead of schedule while others lag far behind and there was nothing to worry about. At first, this calmed Hermione but after watching children months younger than hers accomplish tasks that her daughter seemed unable to perform, Hermione made an appointment with a pediatrician.

That was the start of the end of her life as she knew it. In truth, that was the day her marriage ended, the day her faith in magical healing ended, and her faith in her mother-in-law ended. The muggle specialist was able to diagnose Rose's disability within half an hour of meeting her.

Instead of being thankful that someone was able to help Rose, Ron felt betrayed that Hermione took their child to see a muggle doctor without consulting him. Molly made no secret of her dislike of muggle things, especially healing, and quickly rallied the support of her son against Hermione and the muggle doctor. Things became very strained and people were forced to take sides.

Hermione persevered and took her daughter to endless specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social clubs for other children with disabilities, renovated their home for a child with special needs and did as much research as possible in order to properly advocate for her child. Ron, on the other hand, lived in a constant state of denial. It was at Rose's first birthday party that denial became something ugly. Ron's denial became rejection, and it broke Hermione's heart.

Ginny was pregnant with her second child while Hermione was pregnant with her first. The two of them had never been overly close, but Hermione and Ginny used their mutual experiences to bond. Baby Rose was born just shy of three months before baby Albus. At Rose's first birthday party, little Albus was running around happily and shouting words while little Rose was barely able to pull herself into a sitting position. Watching several other children younger than his child pushed Ron into the harsh light o reality. His daughter was not like other children and may never be. Unable to deal with this reality, Ron took to pretending that he didn't have a child. If someone asked after her, he said "fine" and changed the topic as soon as possible. When Hermione asked his input on therapies, he responded with "whatever you think is best."

Gradually, Ron pulled away completely and one day he was just gone. Ron replaced one form of denial with another. Molly, on the other hand, replaced denial with blame. One Sunday during family brunch, Hermione was assisting Rose in holding her spoon, when the bomb fell.

"You coddle her too much, if you didn't hold her hand for her, she'd learn to do it herself" Molly snapped at Hermione. There was a pause where everyone waited for the response.

Hermione put the baby spoon down gently and responded with "You're telling me not to help my child after the way you all but coddled your children into incapacitation?" As soon as the words flew out o her mouth, Hermione wished to take them back.

Molly narrowed her eyes and said "I told him not to marry you, you know." After a short pause she continued, "Everyone else in the family has at least some magical blood, and all of their kids are normal."

Ignoring the audible gasp from the clan, Hermione calmly arose from her seat, picked Rose up, accioed their things and said "I always knew you didn't like me, but I got over that though. I this is the way you feel, then Rose and I will no longer darken your door." and was gone with a small pop.

That had been over nine months ago. Rose and Hermione celebrated Rose's second birthday together at this same park. Ron gave Hermione a no-strings divorce and relinquished all rights to Rose, disinherited her and pretty much removing Hermione and Rose from the family records.

Caring for a child with disabilities is time consuming and costs a lot of money. The government assessed Rose's disability at a moderate level according to the other children diagnosed with disabilities in her area and stated that she only qualified for PT and OT twice a month. Beyond doing all of the exercises herself with Rose every day, Hermione was forced to pay for extra PT and OT herself, which ate up a lot of her savings. Rose attends an early start school program five days a week during the hours Hermione went to work and she had arranged for Rose's PT and OT sessions to take place at the school.

At one point, Hermione realized that every aspect of Hermione's and Rose's lives revolved around Rose's disabilities and what Rose couldn't accomplish, as opposed to what Rose could do. When that happened, Hermione again reorganized their lives to celebrate Rose's accomplishments and ignore things she couldn't do. They didn't give up working towards new goals, but Hermione refused to constantly focus on the negative.

That was the start of their new lives together. Hermione left her job at the ministry and took a job in the muggle world. She also moved to a flat near her parents and Rose's school. The pedi-healers were unable to assist Rose, and truthfully, Hermione was tired of fighting. She spent Rose's entire life fighting her spouse, family, friends, specialists and the public and it all meant nothing. After the fallout with Molly, Harry supported Hermione in secret but was afraid to alienate the only family he'd ever known by standing up for the woman he used to refer to as his sister.

So here Hermione sat on a bench in June, watching her daughter totter and teeter around on rubbery legs and play with other children who weren't considered normal and Hermione was happier than she'd been in over two years. The betrayal hurt, and probably always would, but it was over and they survived.

Tomorrow was a big day because tomorrow Rose was going to meet with a learning development specialist to try and ascertain if her physical disabilities were indicative of learning or mental disabilities. It was hard to prepare for bad news on the inside while keeping up a brave face for her parents and friends. It took her a long time to talk about Rose's progress or set-backs with other people after the ugliness, but in the end, her parents were very supportive and she was able to make friends in a support group for families of children with Rose's form of Delayed development.

Today was for play, worries were for tomorrow. With that thought, Hermione got up off the bench and ran to chase her daughter over the spongy playground in a rousing battle of tag.


	2. The Promise

Chapter Two: The Promise

"_Society cannot be built on miracles alone or on the likelihood that they will occur._" Jonathan Kozol in _Savage Inequalities_

"Explain this" a young blonde haired man barked to his elder replica currently seated in a pretentious room made to subdue lesser men into compliance with grandeur.

"What do you mean, Draco?" Lucius Malfoy stated.

Draco tossed a stack of papers at his father with a nasty glint in his eyes. The younger Malfoy had assumed the position of _Malfoy_, the head of Malfoy, upon his father's disgrace after the second war. Although Lucius did help Draco with the transition, there was still a lot of work to be done.

Recently, Draco was going though papers marked "confidential" when he got the shock of his life. He opened a faded packet of parchment tied with an equally faded ribbon and found a birth certificate for _Electra Rasalas Malfoy b. August 4, 1978_. There was no death certificate, and Draco would have remembered an elder sister, so he started digging.

Draco took a seat in the ornate chair behind the massive desk belonging to _The Malfoy_ "What I mean, Lucius, is explain to me what you've done with my sister."

A look crossed Lucius' face that Draco had only seen once, it was regret. "Draco, I had hoped that this day would never come. Your mother and I agreed that I would be the one to tell you, and to shoulder the blame. She cannot speak of it, it pains her too much."

Lucius paused to summon a crystal decanter full of amber liquid and two matching glasses to the desk and splash a generous portion into each before continuing.

"You mother had great difficulties becoming and then remaining pregnant. When she carried Electra to term, we were ecstatic. However, soon after her birth, we noticed that Electra was different. At first we didn't pay too much attention to the differences, because we were too happy to have a living child. However, before Electra reached one month old, we had to face reality. Electra was not, nor would she ever be, considered normal."

Arms crossed Draco refused his drink instead and ordered his father to continue.

"The healers called it a chromosome abnormality while the muggle doctors called it trisomy 21, commonly known as Down syndrome. Don't look so shocked. When your child is ill, you're willing to do anything to help him or her, and so we relied upon muggle medicine when the healer failed us. It was all for naught. There was little anyone could do for her, there is no cure. The best we could do for Electra was to place her in an institution for people with her disabilities. Times were very different then, and our lives would have been in danger if word had got out about Electra. It was the hardest thing your mother and I ever had to do."

Luvius arose from his chair and stated: "In the library, under the herbology section, on the shelf about native plants, look behind a pale blue book about the flora of Nova Scotia, you will find the documentation you seek." He then left the room to seek out his wife.

* * *

"I need your help Blaise."

Draco was once again seated in the pretentious chair, but this time his face was a mask of despair. His hair was in disarray from tugging upon it.

"What is it Draco? The last time I saw you like this, you were plotting the death of the headmaster. Few things can be as bad as that." Zabini stated from his seat across the desk.

Draco paused to order tea and then handed a folder to his best friend. While his friend read through the stack, Draco took the time to serve tea and polish off a scone.

"So, they sent her off to this place in Devon for the mentally impaired and no one head of her since?" Zabini concluded.

"I want to find her. She is a Malfoy and deserves to be here amongst her family. When I took over as Malfoy, I decided to be the man my father couldn't or wouldn't be. I refuse to lock away people that don't fit into my expectations, I am not him."

Blasie handed the documents back to Draco and nodded his head in agreement "No, you aren't your father. Of course I'll help you find her." The darker boy left unsaid that Electra might not be alive when they finally found her.

The two young men spent the rest of the afternoon plotting how they would go about navigating this new world they'd entered when Blaise had an idea.

"You know Draco there must be other families from our world who have been in this situation. We should find one we can trust and question them."

"The only person I can think of is Aberforth Dumbledore. He openly took care of his sister and flaunted tradition." Draco replied.

"So let's go talk to him. I'm sure the mediwizards tried to get him to lock up his sister, but he refused."

* * *

The dingy pub in Hogsmeade had changed little since the second war. Aberforth Dumbledore still stood guard behind the bar with a dirty rag in one hand and a dirtier glass in the other.

Draco and Blaise made their way to the bar , open determination upon their faces.

"I'd like a bit of your time to assist me with an inquiry" Malfoy stated. Aberforth wasn't the type of person one wasted time with false pleasantries on. He was unlike his brother in many ways.

"What's your inquiry?" was the reply.

Draco paused to assess the other man and assumed it was okay to continue by the questioning look he received. Zabini cast a muffliato around the trio while pretending to ignore his two complanions.

"I have recently discovered that I have a sister. She was…different, and my parents placed her in an institution. I would like to find her."

"I see. Well, there is a group that deals with these things. Usually it's the parents who seek this group out, because their child has an issue, but my contact with the group might be able to help you find your sister, even if it has been awhile." Aberforth then pulled a card out of a pocket in his robes and handed it to the younger man.

"Young Malfoy, it is important to remember that our world does not tolerate differences. The love I had for my sister and the freedom, as a social pariah I had, allowed me to care for my sister. Many people cannot stand up to the social pressures and often see the easy way as the only way. Do not hold this against your parents for too long."

Aberforth then walked to the other end of the bar to refill a tankard, signaling the end of the conversation.

"I don't want another child to have to go through this Blaise. I promie to do everything I can to find her and to ensure that there are more options so this doesn't happen again." As Draco swore, a soft glittery light surrounded him, signaling a Wizard's vow, an unbreakable promise.

* * *

Author's note:

Thank you to everyone who read, and a double thanks to the people to left a review. This story was updated a day late due to the stomach flu taking hold at my house this past week. It's shocking how people so little can puke so much and so often.

This story is based on my experiences in a past life as a special educator and my current experience as a parent of a child with disabilities. My daughter's disability is a lot like the disability I've given Rose, because I am familiar with it as a mother and as a professional. Moreover, while my spouse did experience a small rough spot when our daughter was diagnosed, it was nothing like how Ron's character reacted to Rose. Ron's response is based off many experiences I've witnessed over the years. It's far too common for my liking. Unfortunately, Molly's response was taken from my life, only it was my mother's response, not my mother-in-law.

I will be going into the rough history that individuals with disabilities have suffered. I promise not to become too preachy or use too many technological terms, but if I do go ahead and tell me about it. The wizarding world appears to be a few generations behind the muggle world when it comes to civil and human rights, so I figured that it was about time for this branch of civil and human rights to be addressed.

Jillian


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